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Sunday, 9 October 2011

Review: Supernatural 7.03 "The Girl Next Door"

Warning – Contains spoilers!

But people.... They are who they
are. No matter how hard you try. You are what you are.

The Girl Next Door may have been episode 3 of season 7 but it
sort of felt like something else. Something older. Of days gone by, of hiding out,
of researching, of balancing the heartbreak and the humour, of honest to
goodness monsters, of inner demons and real demons, of Sam and Dean, talking,
trying to trust, trying to be brothers. They may still be failing somewhat miserably, but at least
they’re still trying! This felt kinda like the Supernatural I fell in love with. Not
that I haven’t loved every single season, I have and I loved the dark and
twisty turn it took when things went to hell in a hand-basket…literally. But
why did I fall in love with Supernatural? Sam and Dean. I fell in love with
these two struggling, dysfunctional brothers who above everything else, love
each other. The Girl Next Door had so
many shades of why I first fell in love with Supernatural. It felt old, but new.
It felt familiar but still fresh. It felt like Supernatural, especially when
everything went pear-shaped.....

Hey look, Bobby isn’t
dead! No surprise there and he arrives just in time to pick a drug addled and
totally adorable Dean up off the floor. I was super worried that the missing
Bobby would turn out to be Levianthanised, but I don’t think he has been,
because he’s being way too reasonable and really, he could have just eaten Sam
and Dean at anytime, that is, if that’s the boss’ plan for them. But where was
Bobby? It was totally glossed over. That was sort of annoying. Dean said he thought he
was dead, Bobby looked at him like he was an idjit, said he wasn’t, yet, and
then they high tailed it out of there. I understand they didn’t have time to
stop and natter, but I would’ve definitely asked him where the hell he was when
his house burnt down. Even if he said, I’ll tell you about it later, at least
ask! He was also very chirpy for a guy who’d just lost everything. I have to
admit this got my spidey senses tingling, but I’m assuming he was just so happy
to find the boys alive that he wasn’t thinking of anything else. Bobby is totally
awesome. The way he came in and scooped Dean up, gave him a little pat on the
cheek (also got my spidey senses tingling…I’m so suspicious), goes and grabs
Sam, commandeers an ambulance and beetles off to stash the boys in Montana! Bobby
to the rescue! And he continues to be the voice of reason. Trying to accept
Sam, letting Sam heal in his own time, trying to talk Dean down, make him see
sense and trust that his overgrown brother knows what’s what. He’s so calm. I love that he stashed
copies of his books….Bobby Singer, paranoid bastard. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed
Bobby in the opening episodes of season 7. I’m pretty sure he’s not a
Leviathan, like, 90% sure.

And what about the
Leviathan? Man they’re organised. I’m definitely starting to believe that the
Boss is going to be possessing the Jimmy vessel, because the Leviathan seem to
have a lot of knowledge about the Winchesters. I’m assuming that’s knowledge that
went into Jimmy’s brain when Cas was living inside him, unless Cas is still inside him; just subdued. The Leviathan know things. They’re set up in fraud
centres, hospitals, using cell phones, reading the paper while enjoying a
cappuccino! They’re fitting right in! It's like a great holiday with an all you can eat buffet. They know about the boy’s credit card
scams, so they must know their fake names. How long until they suss out all their
alias' and then their phone numbers and track them that way? How many are there?
A lot of black goo came out of Cas, I wonder how many Leviathan that equates
to? I’m enjoying the Leviathan; they feel like a genuine threat. The unknown.

So Sam. I like where
Sam got to in this episode. He seems to be closer to coming to a place of peace
with his craptastic life. He’s dealing with the whole freak word, he says he’s managing
his hallucinations, or at least he’s trying to, but a couple of things bothered
me. I was disturbed that he lit out on Dean to go in search of Amy. Bobby was
gone, Dean was laid up with a broken leg and God knows how affected by
pain-meds. Sam took the car and left a note like some teenage kid. He left Dean
alone, immobile, unprotected and vehicle less. That seemed poorly
thought out to me. If a Leviathan had rocked up to the cabin, Dean would’ve
been dinner. On top of this, Sam wants to be trusted, he wants his brother to
have faith in him, but once again he’s sneaking around, ducking out while
Dean’s asleep. We’ve seen this before and it never ends well. How can he ask for Dean’s trust if he doesn’t
trust Dean enough to tell him what’s going on? Takes two to tango. But having said that, I understand
why he did it, he had a good idea what Dean's response would be and he didn't want to hear it. He wanted the opportunity to see if he could fix this on his own and in his head space, showing that he's capable of doing this would be important to him. But you can’t asked to be treated one way while you behave
another. Of course Dean was going to flip his lid. He’s beside himself with worry about Sam
and Sam doing this ain’t helping none. I would've popped him one in the nose too quite frankly!

The other thing that bothered me was Sam’s
choice to let Amy go seemed all too easy. But I guess that brain of his isn’t
working properly right now. Yes, they had a history and Amy saved his life once upon a
time and she obviously made a profound mark on young Sam, maybe molding a lot of how he approached this work as a hunter in later years, but she’d killed, more than once, and it looked like she was about to
kill that drunk driver guy when Sam nabbed her in the park. Sure, she only
killed because her son got sick and needed fresh meat, but killing is killing and what if he got sick
again? I’m not convinced Sam was right when he said to Dean “Put me or you
in her position, we’d probably do the same thing.” Dean was ready to put his
brother down when he thought Sam’s future was to be a soulless killing machine.
So maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t, but regardless, I just kept coming
back to, what if her kid gets sick again, then she’d kill, good intentions or
otherwise, she’d have no choice. I don’t know, I guess I thought Sam’s logic
was flawed, but then he’s always been driven by empathy and that’s a very large
part of why we love him so much. His heart. I’d also say he’s probably feeling
even more empathetic to people like Amy than usual, given his current situation and fuzzy,
freaky headspace. He wanted to believe in her. He wanted to believe she could
stay true to her promise, because if she can overcome the monster inside her,
maybe Sam can overcome this monster inside him. This whole, Amy unfinished
business thing, reminded me of Something
Wicked from season 1, where John sent Dean to clean up a mess which was the
outcome of when he hesitated as a kid.
Dean felt responsible and needed to fix it. People had died because of him. Now
people had died because of Sam. That probably should have rung bigger alarm
bells than it did..... Oh and Sam’s first kiss was with a monster?! So that’s where
that started! The boy has a type!

Dean….you break my
heart. But before I get to THAT scene, let’s start with the fun stuff! Dean in
the hospital. ADORABLE! I love it when Dean is like a little boy. The noise he made
when he hit the floor and realised he’s in a cast, the half stoned “Hey look, a monster broke my leg”, the look
on his face when Bobby patted him on the cheek. Awww-worthy the lot of it. Then
of course we have him watching Mexican tele-novellas while he recuperates. Hilarious!
Dean and his soaps! The man is such a contradiction. There’s this Dean, then there’s
the Dean that killed Amy. I believe Dean is in the throws of a major crisis. A
breakdown. He’s at tipping point and it’s been a long time coming. I said this
in last week’s review, but now it seems even more obvious. He’s regressed. He’s
not trusting Sam, panicking about every little thing his brother does, driving
him crazier by constantly asking him how he’s doing, buggy Bobby with his mania
and then outright lying to Sam’s face. I hated that lie. The whole thing’s hard
to watch, but I get it. This is a man whose trust in himself and those around
him, has been severely battered and bruised. First his brother. For several
years now, Sam has wandered into dark territory, then he was all soulless and
just when Dean thinks he
has him back and they’re starting to find their footing, BAM, down comes Sam’s
Hell wall. Now, once again, Dean doesn’t know whether his brother is telling
him the whole truth. He’s worried sick about Sam. He’s worried Sam will never
get better, that this dropping out, screaming at no-one Sam is here forever. I
think he feels that he’s losing his brother again and maybe this time for good.
Dean is all about Sam, for good or bad. Without him, he falters. I’m sure he
feels a level of responsibility. If he’d said yes to Michael, maybe this would
never have happened, maybe Sam wouldn’t have needed to throw himself into the
pit. I don’t doubt that’s crossed Dean’s mind. Then add to the mix Castiel. Cas
was his friend. He tried to help Cas but his friend didn’t listen, he went down
the wrong path and it set them against each other. Dean felt absolutely
betrayed and though in the end, the only way to save the world was to save Cas,
his friend ultimately died. He died and in doing so let an unkillable evil
loose. Dean couldn’t get through to Cas and now they have the Leviathan. Not
only has Dean’s trust in his own judgement and his faith in those around him been
rocked, but more profoundly, his faith in his ability to protect those he
loves, and that’s at the very core of who Dean is. He couldn’t protect Sam and
he couldn’t protect Cas. What use is he? So he regresses back to a Dean where
things were easier for him, where things were black and white.

I get why he
killed Amy. This is what that father of his trained him to do. She was a monster and yeah, he was
right, chances are she’d kill again. He couldn’t take that risk. Sam took that
risk and now there were bodies. In Dean’s mind, if an Angel can put a foot wrong
then there’s no doubt a monster can. He couldn’t let her go. But on first watch,
wow, it was so brutal. I was shocked. Shocked. I felt horrible afterwards. Horrible
that Dean did that. I didn’t like it. When I watched it again, without the
jaw-dropping horror of the moment, I saw it slightly differently. Yes, it was just
as brutal, but when he said sorry to her I believed him and then he gently catches
her as she falls, and lays her on the bed. On the second watch through, with my
shock gone, I saw remorse or maybe regret that he had to do this thing. I saw his surprise when he saw her son at the door, the son he chose not to kill.
I also saw pain on his face when he looked back at the son rushing to his dead
mother’s side. He knows that feeling. A monster killed his mother. To that kid,
Dean’s the monster. This is going to eat him up. That he lied to Sam, that he
killed Amy and that he left her son an orphan. That’d be guilt, with a massive
side order of guilt for Mr Winchester please. I know this whole thing left a
bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Some fans were saying it was completely
out of character for Dean, but I disagree. It's not the first time he's made the tough decision to take down a monster that wasn't outwardly evil. It’s just we haven’t seen this side
of Dean’s character for a while. He's grown into someone who’s developed
the ability to see the greys in life. But remember, deep down, he thinks he’s a
killer. He told Veritas that’s all he is. We know it’s not true, but Dean's
never put much stock in himself. He’s reverted to this Dean because everything
he knows and believes and trusted is once again being pulled out from under him.
He’s in a very bad place. Black and white is easier. Black and white was how he was trained to think. He’s been pulled this way
and that by demons, Angels and the Devil himself. He's a hunter. Monster bad, kill monster. It's easier and it's probably the one thing in his life that makes sense, the one thing he can hold on to. And you know what, he’s right, he couldn't just walk away. But there’s got to be fallout from his
choice to kill Amy. You don’t do something like that and walk away scot-free. Guilt,
pills, booze, lies, he’s heading for a crash and I assume that’s going to kick
off next week’s episode. Is the killing of Amy, Dean’s big secret that the
producer’s have spoken about in regards to the brother’s relationship? My main
concern is that this act will put the brothers at loggerheads again. I don’t
want that. No more. Not again. Enough. I feel like we've flogged that dead horse. They can have conflict; they've always had that, but let them be brothers. I need them to be brothers. I need them to be
Sam and Dean.

Whew, I better wrap this
up!

Of course I’m not
going anywhere without mentioning Jensen. As we all know, he directed The Girl Next Door. He’s showing a real
knack for interesting camera angles. The escape sequence in the hospital was
particularly well staged. I liked his shot choice for Dean stumbling around on
crutches, it added to the morphine-induced vibe and the POV shot towards Bobby
with the gurney was also pretty cool. The sweeping shots down the hospital halls,
the way the camera never stopped moving or the actors constantly moved past the
camera, the cuts, it all added to the feeling that Bobby and Dean were in a
race to get the hell out of there. I thought this hospital escape sequence was
really tense and kind of awesome. This episode would’ve been more difficult to direct
than Weekend At Bobby’s. There were a
lot more scenes, more locations, more cast, and flashbacks to deal with. It was
a busier story, more detailed script and Dean was in it a lot! Jensen did an
awesome job! I hope he never goes behind the camera permanently, because to
deny us the joy of watching him would be a crime against humanity, but I do
hope he gets the chance to direct some more. He’s good at it.

The Girl Next Door may not have rocketed along at the breakneck
speed of episode 1 and 2 of season 7, but it felt like a nice breather from that frenetic
pace. Essentially it was a monster of the week episode that also did the job of
propelling along the main storyline and setting up issues that are going to
play out in the first half of the season. The Leviathan were there, but not all
consuming. I liked that. Colin Ford as young Sam was uncanny as usual. He’s
absolutely perfect casting. And though I don’t think this was Dabb and Loflin’s
best script, it was still pretty juicy, full of wonderful throwaway lines,
blissfully needed lighter moments and tongue in cheek references (check out
SuperWiki for a list). Season 7 is really shaping up. Every week I’m gagging
for the next episode, though next week, I think my heart might break in two….

Oh and one more
thing…pie. Dear God Sam PIE! When are you going to remember the pie! Maybe that
can be the very last shot of the series….Sam finally remembers the pie. The
End.

On that note, I’ll
leave you with the promo for 7.04 Defending
Your Life and some wise word’s from Sam’s young friend Amy…. “All the
coolest people are freaks.” Amen Padaleski.

See you next week and
thanks for reading! – Amy (not the dead monster one)

10 comments:

People may not think it was in Dean's character to kill Amy, (like you I agree it is) but I think it just shows how much in his character it is that he didnt kill the son. The son had not done anything wrong and he took the kid at his word that he hadnt killed anyone. While I was shocked he did it, its how Supernatural goes. They have not wanted too, but they have had too, kill monsters that fall into that moral grey area. There is at least one of those epiodes each season. It was an awesome episode, and an awesome review.

Thanks Kara! Yes, exactly...that's why I used that screen cap too, to show the pain on his face looking back at the boy. I thought it was an awesome ep. All the shades of grey that I love about Supernatural...it makes you feel a tad uncomfortable. That's good TV!

Excellent recap and thoughts, Amy! I agree so much with you conclusions about why Dean did what he did and why it was necessary. I hope that Sam (and fandom) can forgive him for the way he had to do it, but he didn't have any good choices here :(

And it's Dean who is the one who always makes those tough choices. He offered to kill Madison for Sam, though Sam did it, he killed the clubber vamp girl while Sam looked away, he shot the mother in Croatoan, he even was the one that hurt Bobby to get the Kharn worm out of him, while Sam once again looked away. Dean makes those tough choices sucks it up and does it.Thanks for commenting!

As always loved reading your review Amy.Jensen once again did an amazing job at directing. I agree with you it did kind of feel like an old episode but new at the same time. The Sam flashbacks were great to watch. And Jensen at the end with the little boy broke my heart. And how funny was the part where he punched Sam!? That was hilarious. New rule, you steal my baby you get punched! Haha. Loved it :)Can't wait for next weeks ep!

Hey Amy, awesome review as usual. At first, I was like WHAT.. Dean you killed her. But you know what.. he has to. Because he knows damn well everything has consequences. Jensen did an awesome job in directing.. And damn! He looks hot in the hospital gown!!!

Awesome review, as usual =) I'm really annoyed at the way they glossed over where Bobby had been - I desperately want them to acknowledge that Bobby has heard that voicemail Dean left him, too. I don't know, something just didn't feel right about the way Bobby was, I felt really on edge, waiting for him to attack the boys or something. I was shocked with the way Dean killed Amy, even though I knew it was coming (damn you spoilers!). I hated that the kid was left on his own after just seeing his mother die. But my heart went out to Dean - watching his face, seeing they way he caught Amy and lay her down...ouch.I'm really interested to see where they take Dean's mental/emotional state - and after watching the trailer for next week, I agree that I think that will be his breaking point (and I can't wait to see Alona back!).I thought it was great episode though, Jensen did a beautiful job in the director's seat again!

Nice review Amy! wow with your Dean analysis, I hit a little bit of it, but I can't believe he is totally on the downward spiral yet! I liked that bit about him kinda reverting back to a time where things were simpler, but the more I wrote about it, the more I agreed with Dean's view of what happened. I think both brothers are trying to do a lot of protecting the others, and I don't really feel like Sam is doing the hiding stuff for the same reasons as he did earlier on...I know they say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but as someone who deals with the law, I tend to see peoples' intentions as very important. I think Sam was trying to protect Dean...and protect Amy. I think Sam knew that Dean would want to kill Amy, and he wanted to hear her out...but what I thought was interesting is that Amy commented to Dean that Sam may not know he had come, but he did tell Dean. Sam as a kid knew not to tell John and Dean about Amy. He knew that if he told them about her, that they would go after Amy. So why did Sam tell Dean? Did he really feel that Dean wouldn't go after Amy? Or did he feel that if he had made the wrong decision in letting Amy go, that Dean would clean it up for him? I just present that as an option. I have loved all three scripts so far this season and actually loved the timing on this one...I do wish we had learned a little more about Bobby and how he got there...we don't know how far away he was, if he was in the panic room, etc...I hadn't even thought that he could be a leviathan...he seemed a little off, but I couldn't quite place it...I suppose anything is possible, but Leviathan seem to eat first and ask questions after...they seem like hungry animals, with only the top ranking ones with the wherewithall to come up with a good plan...I'm still thinking the boss is in cas...but maybe that is just wishful thinking...

yes, seeing Dean gently put Amy's body down on the bed, and the way he knocked himself on the way out, Dean is totally in his I'm just a murderer mode...He needs to find some peace with himself...

Interesting point about Sam, and good food for thought. The more I thought about his actions the more I think he knew what Dean would say and he just wanted to see if he could work it out first. I think he knew he wouldn't like what Dean would say, so chose to avoid it. I don't condone that sneaking out but I understand it. I think he told Dean about Amy because he want to be honest at that point, I'm not sure he was hoping Dean would clear it up, but it must have been rattling around in his grapefruit that Dean might do that. Though his brother did lie and say he trusted him :( As for Dean, I just think hunter mode is easier and one thing he can control but also he knows this has to be done, and without the shock I saw he he treated her quite gently. I'm hoping this whole guilt trial brings him back from this dark place, maybe when faced with all he feels responsible for he will realise a lot of it was out of his hands or the only choice. I think Sam and Dean are going towards a bit of argy bargy but as they will be in close quarters for a while, just the two of them, they're going to have to work through it!! Thanks for your great comment!

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